Minnesota Vikings full 2021 NFL mock draft

Round 2

The Minnesota Vikings let Riley Reiff and his massive salary go right before free agency began, and that left a huge hole on the left side of the offensive line. The Vikings have some intriguing internal options to replace Reiff at left tackle. Ezra Cleveland was drafted last season. He spent years as a left tackle with Boise State, so he could make the move pretty easily, but that would put a pretty big hole at the guard position where he played last season.

This is where another Cleveland comes into play. Ben Cleveland is one of the best guards in the draft, and he could fall to the Vikings late in the second round. The Georgia lineman didn’t get a lot of recognition while he was at Georgia, but he has one of the best talent levels of anyone at his position.

Cleveland is one of those players that would likely see himself jump to the first round or close to it if there was an NFL Combine. He had a really good pro day, and it has people talking about what he can do in the NFL. If that was on national television and covered by major sports channels, the chatter would be much louder.

Ben Cleveland can jump into the left guard position now, as Dakota Dozier is likely going to play somewhere else next season. This gives the Vikings a very young and skilled offensive line to play in front of Cousins.